Closing thoughts on a Friday night

Rev. David Eldridge of Calvary Baptist might have a little competition in the world of jogging pastors. Rev. Rick Brooks, the new head man at St. Luke United Methodist told me today he logs about 20 miles a week. Beach running. The hills of Northeast Mississippi are a real change of terrain for him.

He showed me a couple of very interesting and unusual items in his office. The more ordinary of the two was a cross made from driftwood, if that’s any indication. He’s a great guy. Really enjoyed our conversation. He had a few laughs, peering at each other over the boxes in his office.

Look for a feature on Rev. Brooks in the next couple of weeks.

I stopped off at a friend’s store for an old fashioned balogna and cheese sandwich, thickly sliced, then cruised on over to Oxford to meet with Rev. and Mrs. Roy Pitre, natives of Cut-Off, Louisiana. The Daily Mississippian ran a little piece about them a couple of days ago and Eerol Castens and I kind of latched onto it. The Pitres have a great story about building a church, then falling from grace and climbing back against adversity. Very inspiring people, great cajun hospitality and cool accents. We became instant friends and I’d like to consider doing a feature about their efforts to build a new church in Oxford.

Angie and I have relatives coming in from Indiana this weekend so I’ll be playing host some. She’ll have a hard time pulling me away from Barry Hannah’s “Bats Out of Hell,” though. I won’t have a hard time being hospitable, though. These are nice people with darling little kids. Have to get that grass cut sometime. Knee high – again. I’ll mow over the remaining hope of my corn crop, all seven plants. I am the worst farmer since Abel invented the profession.

I’m still mulling over some very good interview material that I gathered a couple of weeks ago at the Muslim mosque in Oxford. Haven’t quite decided how I’ll use that. I’ll need to get some photos to go with it. Made a lot of friends over there. Good people.

I passed the exit for Tula today, heading toward Oxford. Thought of old Larry Brown. I’ve only lately discovered his genius. Too bad I didn’t know him when he was alive.

Walked a bit on the square in Oxford. Smelled the kitchens, open to the street in some places, like New Orleans. Bought some chocolate for my wife.

Saturday night will probably find me, my wife, and our guests, including their kids, on Beale Street. I’m happy to see our friends. They’re taking a short weekend trip to get away from familiar surroundings. Always nice to see relatives.

Today I had good discussions about religion. Everything from gris-gris and voodoo in the bayou to symbolism and liturgy in the Methodist Church. Good people, good conversation. As always, my privelage to be there, listening.

Peace,

Galen

Visit to the mosque in Oxford

I’ve been on the road a lot today and this post might be riddled with spelling errors. Excuse me if that’s the case.

My conversation with Rev. David Eldridge this week was outstanding. What a gift he is to the community! I’ve certainly made a new friend. He and I are not far apart in age: He’s 29; I’m 32. We have a lot in common.

Talking with people from his former churches, I saw that he’s made quite an impression wherever he’s been. Mr. Miskelly in Okolona called him “the next Billy Graham.” David would probably have preferred that I didn’t include that quote but Mr. Miskelly delivered the aplomb with such sincerity that I couldn’t omit it.

As summer draws on, I find that I’ve allowed the annual conferences of some area churches to sneak up on me. I can only apologize, and say that, as I told Rev. Andy Ray at FUM, during a call he placed on his way home from the United Methodist Conference, “this being my first time through” I haven’t quite become attuned to the important events on everyone’s yearly calendar.

Rev. Ray and others have been more than patient with me while I acquaint myself with the pace of the church year. Specifically, I should have paid more attention to the conference of the Southern Baptist Convention this week. I picked an AP story to run in Saturday’s paper, but I should have localized the story more. That’s my fault and I apologize for it. It is, however, a sin of ommission, rather than commission.

Friday I paid a visit to the Muslim mosque in Oxford. This was quite an experience. The people invited me out and couldn’t have been more hospitable.

I sat in on prayer and listened to a discourse about selected suras from the Koran. Although I didn’t understand all of it, I found the poetry very moving. The sheer beauty of the language is enough to recommend it.

Afterwards, a number of men were good enough to have a roundtable discussion about the similarities and differences between the Muslim and Christian faiths.

The purpose of my visit was primarily to start building a rapport with Muslims in the area. I’ve often wanted to include their perspectives in articles I’ve done, but simply didn’t know where to find them. I made many new friends and, for those who appreciate a wider perspective on issues of faith, look forward to Muslim views being included in future articles.

I found the group eager to engage in serious discussion about theology. These good people have an innate desire to pursue and to share knowledge. They were very frank and, in no time at all, we were delving into rather contentious topics with the greatest mutual respect. These are fine people of faith and I have nothing but respect for them. I’m confident that I’ve opened a channel of dialog that will prove fruitful and informative for my readers.

After my visit to the mosque I wandered through my old familiar haunts in Oxford. I spent some time in Square Books, picked up another collection of short stories by Barry Hannah, as well as one from my former teacher, David Galef. I also got a collection of essays from Larry Brown titled “Billy Ray’s Farm.” More than enough to keep me busy this weekend and take my mind away from theology – let me catch my breath! I love to immerse myself in good fiction on weekends.

Thanks for your emails and letters. Thanks for reading and, as Tavis Smiley says, “Keep the faith.”

Peace,

Galen

Spiritual healing and next week’s feature

Like Marvin Gaye said, right:  “When I get that feelin’, I want…spiritual healin’.” Well, something like that.

In all seriousness…’

I really enjoyed doing the story “Slain in the Spirit” this week. It’s a funny thing: Sometimes I’ll have second thoughts about a title in the hours after the final draft goes to print. As I write this I find myself thinking about that title. I think it works. Still, it’s on my mind.

I think the piece is good. I called Rev. Anthony Hatch and Rev. Terry Garrett today and told them I’m enthusiastic about it. They really opened themselves and their convictions to me. I appreciate that.  I think it’s one of the better stories I’ve done. It goes a little deeper. I was able to spend some time with the subject.

I enjoyed the service at New Life Church. Incredible. Great people. So welcoming and sincere. They took time to explain things to me. Rev. Hatch invivted me to the service on Friday, as we were having lunch. I initially told him that I was looking for “local art” to go with the story I was working on. “Can you make it Sunday night?” he asked.

Deste Lee, one of our wonderful photographers, went along. Her photos added a lot to the story. Being at the service made all the difference. I’m so glad I went. Things happended fast. I hope that I did some justice to what I was seeing and hearing. I was very impressed and I have nothing but positive things to say about my new friends at New Life Church.

Rev. Terry Garrett and his wife, Dori, were equally delightful. They have a contagious enthusiasm about Lakeland. I spoke with Terry over the phone late last week, then met with him and Dori Monday morning. They both spoke about the doubt that’s inevitably going to surround such an event. However, they spoke about it in the most benign, non-judgemental way. They weren’t the least bit angry that people have doubts. They understood that this type of thing is pretty far from many people’s experience. I admired how gracious they were about it.

I was able, over the course of several days, to cobble together a number of interviews. It lent a certain depth to the story. I had a similar experience with the Alveda King story I did a few weeks back. I like that kind of reporting. The fast paced, deadline-driven newspaper biz doesn’t often lend itslef to that kind of “living with the story.”

My friend Dr. Ed Holliday has a few quotes in this story. He was at the lunch with me and Rev. Hatch. The two of them alerted me to the Lakeland Outpouring several weeks ago. Ed has a wonderful book titled “The 21st Century Great Awakening.” I used a small quote from the book, along with some things he said over lunch. Very insightful. His input did a lot to help me put the Lakeland event in some historical context. I would say that Ed is hopeful but cooly skeptical about Lakeland. He has the believer’s heart and the doctor’s critical reason.

Thursday I made a new friend – Rev. David Eldrige at Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo. David and I had a great conversation, touching on everything from ministry, to family, to books and racial reconcialiton. I couldn’t have been more impressed with him. Calvary has itself a fine, young minister.  I’ll meet with him again next week for a second conversation. The feature, introducing Rev. Eldridge, will be next week’s main story.

Thanks for reading. Go Big Brown!

Galen